This is one of the reasons we source products from South Africa. Amazingly, the country is home to more than 20,000 plants, which is about 10% of all the known plant species on Earth! KwaZulu-Natal’s iSimangaliso Wetland Park alone has five distinct ecosystems, earning it the honour of being the first world heritage site in the country. The Cape Floristic Region is the only region in the world that contains an entire floral kingdom, making it one of the richest areas of the world when it comes to biodiversity. Because South Africa has such a wide variety of landscapes and ecosystems, the country is home to a number of unique super plants that can’t be found anywhere else in the world.

Many of the amazing plants found in South Africa are edible, like the beautiful red num-num berry, which is extremely high in vitamin C and can be made into a delicious jam. Then there’s the marama plant, that thrives in the sandy soil of the kalahari desert and produces a high protein tuber that’s been a staple of indigenous diets for generations. Buchu is another amazing plant only found in South Africa; it’s a world renowned natural anti-inflammatory and antiseptic used to treat countless ailments, including arthritis and high blood pressure. Its antiseptic properties even make it great for skincare; it helps soothe irratated skin and eliminate blemishes.

In a world where the population is rapidly expanding, South Africa is an oasis full of wide open spaces that elicit a spirit of wildness and pure freedom. Compared to more developed countries, the country is full of clean, uncontaminated land, much of which is used to cultivate wonderful indigenous plants that thrive in the hot, arid climate. Rooibos and honeybush tea, the marula tree, the jojoba bush, the hardy Kalahari melon… these are some of the amazing plants that grown in the untainted South African soil and are eventually incorporated into the products we source. Unsullied land produces pure, clean plants, and they hold the natural goodness that we want to share with our customer.

As part of our mission to keep the ingredient in our products as close to the earth as possible, we source products made with wild-grown plants whenever possible. Thanks to its incredible natural diversity, South Africa has a vast wealth of wild-grown trees and plants, many of which have beneficial properties that make them perfect for consumption and skincare. Time and time again, science has proven the harmful effects of chemical-ridden food and beauty products, and wild-grown plants are free of all the toxic, damaging chemicals that endanger our health. Wild-grown plants benefit our planet, too; they tend to have much greater diversity than cultivated plants, and they reduce the need to clear fragile land for farming. This helps to protect the biodiversity that makes South Africa so special, and ensures that the country’s stunning natural beauty will be preserved for years to come.

Part of what makes the plants found in South Africa so extraordinary is their ability to thrive in a climate that many plants couldn’t endure. Because of this, the country has one of the highest concentration of resilient superfoods in the world. Plants that endure hardship and stressful environmental situations like drought produce a very high yield of beneficial nutrients, vitamins and antioxidants, and these nutrients translate into innumerable benefits for our bodies and our skin. Take the Kalahari melon, for example; it grows in what should be one of the most inhospitable places in the world for plants, but it thrives, thanks to the exceptional amount of antioxidants it’s able to produce. South Africa is blessed with an abundance of superplants like the Kalahari melon; plants that don’t thrive in any other part of the world.

The indigenous communities have known about the benefits of these plants for centuries, using them in a wide range of traditional medicines and life-giving foods. To this day, it’s estimated that 80 percent of indigenous South Africans turn first to traditional, natural healing plants when they’re feeling unwell. The country is home to more than 4000 medicinal plants, and the knowledge of their use has been passed down through communities for generations. There’s no denying that the indigenous communities in South Africa have a strong bond with the land and the amazing plants that grow on it, and this is partly to thank for their extraordinary health and resilience. We want to share this traditional goodness with you, and so the products we source contain many of the same ingredients that have been used by the indigenous people for hundreds of years.